posted 07-19-2001 01:38 PM               

There is no trigger to make something happen at a given point in time.

I have found a sneaky way to insert time.

In one of my levels (a top secret laboratory) I wanted an auto-destruct sequence. When it activates Lara only has 5 mintues to escape. After 5 minutes the building turns into ruins, if Lara is still inside, she will die.

To trigger the destruction I have used:

* A totally seperate room (Lara never has to see this room) in which there is a slope. On top of the slope I have placed a rolling ball. Some clicks below on the slope I place on a flat tile a raising block_1. On the the near slope-tiles higher, lower and under the block you have to place additionnal heavy triggers for the rollingball. This is needed to certainly get him back rolling after the block drops (sometimes the ball stopped after the block dropped - test the slope several time - can be a bug). On the remaining side of the slope after the block, each tile has a heavy trigger (not all on one tile because the editor refuses to stack heavy triggers) to activate the various effects - sounds, flip rooms... - for the destruction of the lab.

* In the command center of the lab is a timed switch-trigger (timer=360), stacked with the trigger for the rolling ball and the raising block_1. Together with sound effects for the auto-destruct count-down (I used samples from Star Trek).

* If Lara activates the switch, the ball starts rolling but is stopped by the raised block. After 5 minutes the switch drops, the block lowers and the ball rolls further, activating the heavy triggers and so the destruction and the death Lara (death tiles in the flipped rooms) if she is still inside.